The present invention is related to a system for playing golf and corresponding methods for playing golf.
The worldwide sport of golf is suffering. Baby boomers are aging, declining in number, and many can no longer enjoy the sport due to disabilities. Young individuals stay away because the sport is not attractive to them. They perceived the sport as too slow, too expensive, too difficult to learn, too stressful to play, elitist and too time consuming. Furthermore, the game is weather dependent. Courses stay empty because of rain, heat, and cold, and can only be played during daylight hours.
Golf courses occupy a lot of real estate and capital investment. An average a course requires 150 acres (60 hectares), of which, 50% is turf that requires intensive maintenance. Golf turf requires mowing, seeding, watering, aeration, fertilizers, pesticides etc. Adding to the capital investment are the maintenance equipment and golf cart inventories.
Worldwide, golf courses are closing at a rate of more than 150 per year, whereas only a few new courses are built. As a consequence of the factors previously described, the sport is looking for options to attract new players, to attract young players, and to keep existing players. The golf industry has reacted with new variations of the sport like 9 holes only courses, indoor golf with golf simulators, and target golf where balls are hit from central locations towards “dart board” like targets.
Current solutions only deal with some aspects of the concerns. Nine-hole golf courses still require a considerable time investment and physical abilities of the players. Golf simulators only provide a very limited golf experience as they do not allow the player to actually follow the ball after it has been hit. Other previous embodiments of putting simulators use either a modular system consisting of sections that are laid out on a fixed surface with a fixed putting hole (cup) location or use a continuous belt where the putting hole is moved to a location determined by the golf game software. Furthermore, target golf does not provide a complete game because an important part of the game, the putting, is missing.
There is an unmet need, therefore, for a configurable, flexible golf putting green system and methods which closely resemble a standard golf game played on a traditional golf putting green.